Former Croatian national team coach Stanko Poklepović passes away
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
SPLIT, 24 December 2018 – One of the first coaches of the Croatian national team has passed away last night, the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) reports.
Stanko Poklepović passed away in his hometown of Split, aged 80, after a long illness on Sunday, 23 December.
Born in Split in 1938, Poklepović spent his career playing at RNK Split but it would be as a coach where he made the most impact on Croatian football.
He was mostly notable for managing Hajduk Split in four different occasions during his career and he was the first manager to win the inaugural Croatian football league in 1992 when he led Hajduk to the title.
In 1992 Poklepović was coach of the Croatian national team, leading the country in four matches, including a 3-0 win in Zagreb against Mexico.
In 1994 he coached the Iran national team and also had stints at Ferencvaros, Sepahan and Osijek where he won the 1999 Croatian Cup.
“The Croatian Football Federation expresses its condolences to the family of Stanko Poklepović for their irreplaceable loss,” HNS said.
